Dutch courage
by Wildfire Dragon
Summary: Hermione knew she had made a mistake inviting Cormac to Slughorns party. The night is saved by Malfoy and a bottle of firewhiskey. Where does this slippery slope lead our golden girl?


All characters are property of J.K Rowling.

Hermione dodged behind the sheer curtains Slughorn had put over his charmed windows and tried to calm herself. She had made a mistake, a huge mistake in inviting Cormac McLaggen to Slughorn's party. She had been trying to prove a point to Ron, that she was desirable, even if he didn't see it. She didn't even think he had noticed that she was trying to make him jealous, or if he had he was certainly hiding it well. For the past two weeks all he had done was laugh uproariously anytime Harry or Ginny had brought up Slughorn's party and Hermione's date. It was enough to leave her seething. As if drawn by her anger, Neville poked his placid face around the curtains, holding out a tray of a slime green, unappetising delicacy.

"Want a dragon spawn, Hermione?"

"No, thanks Neville."

"Probably for the best, they smell awful." Neville wrinkled his nose.

"Actually I think I'll have some after all." She smiled heartily, thinking of Cormac trying to kiss her on a mouthful of dragon spawn. Neville watched her empty the tray with a bemused expression, then left her to try to chew them. They were really disgusting, Hermione mused as she swallowed them, keeping an eye out for Cormac coming towards her hideout. It was Harry who finally managed to chase her out of her hiding place, pointing out that Cormac couldn't be as bad as the person she shared a dorm with. She'd had to nod at that, nothing could be as bad as the mysterious Draco Malfoy she'd been rooming with for almost four months, since they'd both been announced as head boy and girl in training. She hadn't wanted to point out to Harry that at least Draco wasn't trying to get her into his bed. She plastered a smile onto her face, feeling a little kick of sadistic glee at how bad her breath smelled. Cormac quickly found his way to her side, nodding to Harry and wrapping an arm possessively around Hermione's shoulder. She didn't have much to compare him too, in the boy stakes but the word that sprang to mind with Cormac was full on. He hadn't let go of her all night, and instead of making her feel desired, it was making her uncomfortable. Harry gave her a sympathetic look before leaving her to find Luna. She tried to quash the urge to hex him.

"This party is tired, shall we go for a walk?" Cormac suggested, tightening his grip on her shoulders and smiling with all his teeth. They were very white, Hermione thought, her parents would love him. She looked around helplessly but nobody was looking her way, there was nobody she could use as an excuse for not going for a walk with Cormac. She nodded, feeling her palms begin to sweat. This had been a stupid idea, a really stupid idea. Cormac's smile widened and he led her from the party, out into the empty corridors.

"We should watch out for Filch."

"Have you ever even had detention, Granger? Maybe you'd like getting into trouble for a change." Cormac replied.

"No, I'd rather not. I think I'll just head back to my dorm. Thank you for a lovely evening Cormac." Carefully disentangling herself from Cormac's arms, she reasoned that lying to him was by far the easiest option. Really she would be chalking up this night as one of the worst of her life.

"Do you know what they say about you, Granger?"

She turned to face him, smile frozen in place. Cormac's own smile had turned predatory.

"What do they say about me?" she replied, keeping her voice as even as she could. She had begun to shiver in the cold in the corridors and she couldn't help listening for the sound of Filch and Mrs Norris.

"They say you're a prude, that you are a stuck up little bitch."

"Well, that's nice of them." She murmured stiffly. "Good night Cormac."

"You are, Granger. You are everything they say about you and more. You've got no soul, there's nothing to you apart from your brains and who the fuck is going to want those in their bed? You're cold, and a prude." Cormac approached her slowly while she stood frozen, watching him warily. She was shivering violently now and she couldn't decide whether to cry or strike him as he approached her, reaching out to tuck a stray curl behind her ear. She flinched away from his touch.

"Don't touch me, Cormac. Why did you say yes to accompanying me if you believe what they say?"

"I did it as an experiment Granger. I wanted to see how little you know when it comes to social interaction. You can keep your brains Granger, nobody is going to find them sexy. I wanted to see if you would give me that pretty little body of yours."

"I'm not that kind of girl Cormac."

"No," Cormac sniggered, "You're not that kind of girl."

Hermione got the feeling that he meant something different to what she had but she shook it off, now too cold and humiliated to hang around a minute longer. She didn't bother wishing him a good night, leaving Cormac sniggering in the corridor as she walked away.

The common room fire was lit but there was no sign of her dorm-mate, only an empty glass on the table by his armchair to suggest he had been there at all. Hermione collapsed onto the couch as close to the fire as she could get, smoothing her dress and letting her tears finally fall. God, she was such an idiot. She should have just swallowed her pride and asked Ron to go with her to the party. Maybe she would have worked up the courage to kiss him. Cormac's words seemed to repeat on a loop around her head – 'you're not that kind of girl,' and then his laugh. Had he meant she wasn't alluring, that even if she had given him what he wanted he would have done it only as an experiment? She sighed, glancing over at the empty glass on the table and wishing she knew how Draco Malfoy did it. George and Fred would probably be able to smuggle her some of Ogdens finest wine but with them she would get the questions. They would want to know why she needed strong wine, why she was drinking, what was wrong. Draco would only look at her oddly, silently.

"God, you make a lot of noise when you are thinking Granger."

Hermione shot up from the couch and glanced around the room. Draco was lounging against his door, watching her with an amused expression.

"I thought you were asleep."

"Granger, its ten o'clock."

"Its only ten?" she sighed, rubbing at her forehead. It had been a long night.

"Was Slughorn's party that terrible?" he smiled at her expression. It was still an odd sight, seeing Draco Malfoy smile. She could still remember the first time she had seen it – she had gotten herself stuck in a dress that Ginny had loaned her and had become so panicked that she had been forced to knock on Draco Malfoy's door. The sight of her tongue-tied and gesturing to the zip on the dress had brought a smile to his face. For a second she considered telling him. Draco wouldn't be the type to overreact like Ron or Harry, he would simply listen.

"I was just thinking I could do with a drink." She let it slip out, knowing Draco was too much of a gentleman not to take the hint. Sometimes she marvelled that the boy she shared a dorm with was the same one who had spent his prepubescent years teasing her and slurring her about her blood. That boy had definitely grown up, she thought to herself as he moved to the kitchen and re-emerged with a bottle of fire whiskey and a clean glass.

"Somebody taught you well Granger."

"What do you mean?" she smiled as she took the glass he handed her.

"That move is my mothers' speciality. You're playing the damsel in distress."

Hermione snorted, almost inhaling her firewhiskey.

"Is that what I'm doing?" she laughed, feeling his eyes on her as he poured his own drink, "I might as well take advantage of it." She knocked back the rest of her firewhiskey, smiling slightly at his widened eyes. He shook his head, gesturing for her glass and filling it up.

"So tell me about the party." Draco prompted.

"I think I might need some more firewhiskey," he quirked his eyebrow at her, sloshing the contents of the bottle, "How do you come to have a stash of firewhiskey anyway?"

"A gentleman never reveals his secrets." Malfoy replied, winking at her.

They sat watching the fire and drinking until Hermione felt the words beginning to slip out of her. She told him about Slughorn's party, about inviting McLaggen and what he had said to her in the corridor. Draco listened in silence, no longer protesting when she held out her glass for a top up.

"What did you do with your night?" she finally asked, giggling as she realised she was slurring. When she made to push herself into a sitting position, she felt her head spin giddily.

"Nothing that would interest you, Granger." He replied smoothly, concealing his bemused expression at Hermione's clumsy movements. He didn't think he'd ever seen her tipsy, or even slightly ruffled. He could remember his horror when he'd been told he was head boy in training and that meant a dorm share. It didn't help that it coincided with Voldemorts' plan for him. Granger, the brainy, know it all was to be his roommate while he plotted to kill the headmaster with only a door between them. It seemed a recipe for disaster. But somehow the situation hadn't worked out as bad as he thought. Looking over at the drunk head girl in training he wondered how Cormac could be so stupid.

"You shouldn't believe what everybody says about you. You shouldn't let it bother you." Draco supplied as he sipped at his firewhiskey.

"Do you know what they say about you Malfoy? They say you're a death eater." She whispered the last word, then fell into a fit of giggles.

"Yeah, along with half of my house." He replied, his eyes drawn to Granger's cleavage as it heaved with her laughter. "You're drunk Granger."

"Yep, I am." She giggled, holding her glass up and frowning as the remainder of her firewhiskey spilled onto the carpet. Malfoy held out the bottle but she shook her head.

"Malfoy, can I ask you something?" She slumped against the side of the sofa, looking at him through lidded eyes. She looked ready to sleep.

"I suppose."

"Do you think I'm sexy?"

Draco looked at her carefully, her eyes wide but unflinching as she met his gaze. His brain was firing off a dozen thoughts a minute. His father would kill him if he said the truth – that Granger had grown up, grown out and was the perfect example of sexy. There were many times in the four months that he'd had to avert his eyes –notably when she walked from the shower through to her bedroom in what she deemed a bathrobe. Really it was a scrap of silk that made him wonder how nobody had noticed Granger turning into a woman beneath their very eyes. Her friends seemed oblivious to her looks, especially the bumbling idiot Weasley, who didn't deserve the attention she lavished on him. She was still looking at him, a crease appearing between her eyebrows as she waited for his answer.

"You're drunk Granger." He finally replied, dropping his gaze and finishing the last drop of firewhiskey in the bottom of his glass. When he looked up she was gone.

"Ginny, will you come shopping with me in Hogsmeade?" Hermione whispered to her friend as they sat together at lunch, Ginny sipping at a goblet of pumpkin juice and reading the Daily Prophet. She raised her eyes from the page, her eyebrows knitted together.

"You hate shopping." Ginny replied.

"I know. I still do but I need your help."

"You're not going to drag me around Flourish and Blotts like last time?" Ginny asked, suspicious. Three hours she had sat in the armchair at the door, wondering if Hermione still remembered she was there.

"No. Its something different this time."

"Something those two won't want to know about?" Ginny nodded her head towards Harry and Ron, who were too busy talking about quidditch to notice they were being discussed. Hermione nodded hesitantly, marvelling at how mischievous Ginny looked as she smiled at her. How anybody thought she was the innocent one of the family was a mystery to Hermione.

The Hogsmeade weekend had come around faster than Hermione had wanted it too. As she and Ginny walked into the village, she wondered at what she was doing. Cormac's words still haunted her and then Draco's evasion of her question had gotten to her, deeper than she was willing to admit. She shouldn't have cared what they thought but the truth was she did. She wanted to be found desirable, for boys to look at her the way she sometimes caught them looking at Ginny. Ginny seemed to radiate confidence and didn't seem to care what anybody thought of her. Maybe if Hermoine could copy her, she would find herself fending off boys the way Ginny seemed too. The boys had wandered ahead of them, encouraged by Ginny's dramatics over needing new dress robes. They had shared a smile at the boys look of horror at having their Hogsmeade trip threatened by dress shopping and how eagerly they had jumped at the chance to meet them in the Three Broomsticks later.

"So where to first Hermione?"

"Where would you suggest?" Hermione asked nervously. She had only the vaguest idea of where she was going when it came to Hogsmeade, tending to stick to the places she knew. Ginny smiled and took her down an alleyway. The shop they came too had lots of red crepe paper in the windows and looked closed to Hermione.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" she asked Ginny as her friend moved towards the door, turning to wink at Hermione. The door opened and Ginny disappeared inside. Hermione followed hesitantly then let out a gasp. The shop was huge inside, obviously charmed with an extension charm and hanging from the walls, in cages and on display was all manner of lingerie. Hermione felt herself blushing just looking at some of the pieces. Ginny greeted the woman behind the desk who was smiling at them in welcome.

"My friend needs a bit of help. She wants to look sexier." Ginny said bluntly, ignoring Hermione's protests. The woman emerged from behind the desk and glanced critically at Hermione, who felt herself blushing beneath the womans frank gaze. It was like being taken bra shopping by her mother all over again. Her mother had spoken to the sales assistant as if Hermione hadn't been standing right behind her and they had went home with a complement of white, black and nude bras, functional and practical with no decoration. Hermione couldn't remember if it had been her or her mother that had wanted the practical ones but she was hardly going to ask her mum to buy her a black lacy bra, was she? The woman asked her if she would mind if she took her measurements. Hermione shook her head and felt a tingling as the woman cast a silent spell and then bustled around the shop as if somebody had wound her up and set her loose. She came back with an armful of pieces that made Hermione squeak and Ginny smile widely. She was steered towards the fitting rooms, her arms full.

"Come out and show me." Ginny called as the curtain was shut on Hermione's protesting face. She examined the items the woman had given her. There were bras and knickers of all colours and materials. She found herself drawn to a white set with gold thread scalloping the edges. It looked amazing on, as did every set she tried on, ignoring Ginny's protests at not being shown any of the garments. When Hermione finally emerged, she was wearing a wide smile.

"How did you get on?" the woman bustled up, smiling at Hermione's expression.

"Can I take these please?" Hermione held out three sets, feeling Ginny's eyes widen as she spotted Hermione's choices. She had taken the white one along with a white lacy pair of knickers, a slytherin green set and a pink set. The woman nodded her approval and took the items off Hermione to put up at the till.

"Hermione, are you seeing somebody?" Ginny whispered as Hermione took a last look around the store, checking the money in her purse to ensure she had enough.

"No. You know I'd tell you if I was." Hermione replied, wondering if she should tell Ginny what Cormac had said to her. Likely she would hex him into next week. They made their way to the cash desk, Ginny clutching her own purchase. As the woman bagged the girls purchases, she seemed to hesitate.

"We have something new in. Its proved a best seller with our regulars. Would you like to see?" she asked the two girls. Hermione looked at Ginny, who was nodding vehemently. The girl smiled and beckoned for them to follow her. She led them through a red velvet curtain into another room where Hermione felt her cheeks flush until she was sure she would faint. It was lined with magical sex toys that she had only read about in the magazines Ginny would give her and insist she read. Ginny seemed completely non plussed but Hermione was riveted. The woman gestured to the centre display where a bust form wore a silk chemise. It was certainly beautiful but Hermione didn't see why it had to be hidden in a back room. She looked at the sales person uncertainly.

"Its enchanted to increase your libido and enhance the assets you already have. We've had rave reviews so far." The woman whispered.

"I'll take it." Hermione declared, ignoring Ginnys' surprised look. The sales person smiled and went to find Hermione's size. When they finally left the store Hermione was feeling better than she had in weeks. When they reached the end of the alley, Ginny stopped her and reached into her bag, emerging with a box wrapped in pink paper and topped with a bow.

"What's that?" Hermione asked as Ginny held it out to her.

"Something every girl should have." Ginny replied, winking as she dropped it into Hermione's bag, ignoring her friends protests.

When Hermione returned from Hogsmeade, stomach pleasantly full of butter beer and the burgers they had ordered in the Three Broomsticks she was pleased to find her dorm empty. She wanted some privacy to look at her purchases. Going into her room, she flicked on her ipod dock that she had enchanted to work within Hogwarts and selected a playlist to match her mood. She tipped the bag onto her bed, looking at the silky lingerie as it spread across her plain bedspread. She had never owned anything as risqué in her life. She looked at Ginny's present, lying amongst the lingerie. Reaching for it she tore off the packaging and let out a gasp. Ginny had bought her a vibrator. Dropping it onto the bed she began to giggle. Let Cormac see her now, with her bed covered in sexy lingerie and a vibrator. Deciding that she would try on the chemise first, she unwrapped it carefully from its packaging and laid it on the bed. The sales assistant had said that it was enchanted to magically enhance what she already had. Pulling off her jeans and sweater, she stripped out of her plain underwear and on impulse threw it into her bin. She pulled the silky material over her head, smoothing it down over her curves and looking at herself in the mirror. She let out a gasp. It was gorgeous and as the sales assistant had said, it enhanced what she already had. She was too busy looking at herself to hear the knock on her door and it open until she heard Draco Malfoy break off in the middle of asking her about patrols.

"Shit, gods, sorry." Malfoy stammered as he stared at Hermione who was staring at him uncomprehendingly, as if unable to understand how he came to be in her room. Draco quickly fled but not before he caught sight of what was on her bed, knowing he wouldn't be able to shake the image of Granger out of his head. When he got back to his room, he collapsed onto the bed, trying to ignore the stirring below his stomach at the thought of Granger in the lingerie he'd seen and using the toy he'd never thought Granger would ever possess.

Hermione didn't tell anybody, not even Ginny, about Malfoy walking in on her in the chemise. She did tell her it was the best thirty galleons she had spent and only smiled as Ginny looked at her oddly. It was awkward in the dorm after, Malfoy jumping like a scalded cat whenever she entered the room, and Hermione blushing like a thirteen year old whenever she caught his eye. God, she was even starting to think about him differently. It had been one day after Herbology, a class she unfortunately shared with Cormac McLaggen, that she had first used the toy Ginny had given her as a present. She had the afternoon free, her homework done and she was thinking of the way Cormac had licked his lips as he looked at her. The dorm had been empty but learning her lesson she had locked her door before stripping down to her underwear. She was wearing the pink set, and as she climbed beneath her covers she let her thoughts drift to the fantasy that kept occurring to her. It was all to do with Cormac's words, and how he hadn't thought she was sexy. She was in a classroom alone when he found her. At first he would be in control, his lips against her neck but then she would take control. Taking the vibrator from the drawer beside her bed, she let the fantasy play out. Cormac tied to a chair, clothes on but hair dishevelled, eyes wild with lust as she straddled him and touched herself while he watched. And then, just as her body began to peak the boy below her became Draco Malfoy, watching her with his mercurial eyes. She came apart with a scream, unaware that Draco Malfoy had emerged from the shower just as she came and could quite clearly hear what she was doing. If Hermione had known that minutes later, he was coming to the idea of her she might have put up a silencing charm next time.

Hermione was tipsy. The party had been better than she expected for a Gryffindor party. Fred and George had lived up to her expectations and managed to sneak in booze, and although they had been shocked when she had first asked if she could have her punch livened up they had quickly complied when she threatened to tell their mother. They had went as far as to give her her own bottle which she had carefully stored in her beaded bag for later. There was an idea forming in the back of her mind, an idea that made her insides tingle and her heart break out galloping as she wondered if she could really go through with it. Draco Malfoy and her, and a bottle of firewhiskey. She would get her answer tonight if she had to force it out of him. She left the party at midnight, wishing Ron and Harry a good night. They were deep in a game of wizarding chess, neither of them close to winning after the amount they had drank. She made it back to her dormitory and found, to her delight, that Draco was in his armchair, reading a book about something or other. Boldly, Hermione knocked the book out of his lap and sat down, ignoring his raised eyebrows and the nerves fluttering in his stomach.

"Time I repaid you." She murmured. Draco's face paled.

"Granger, I thought you heard me knocking. If I'd thought I'd find you like that I'd never have come in." He replied quickly.

"What? No, I don't mean that. I meant," she fumbled in her bag and eventually managed to find the firewhiskey, "this!"

Malfoy looked at her.

"You gave me some of yours. You should have some of mine."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea Granger." Draco replied. He'd made no move to touch her, even though she was sitting in his lap. If she hadn't had some dutch courage running through her veins she might have fled to the couch, or her room.

"Why not? It's the weekend tomorrow. If you don't have some, I might just enjoy it by myself." She replied, leaning close to whisper in his ear.

"Granger, I think I should get you some water."

Sighing, she got off the head boy in training and moved over to the couch, trying not to let her disappointment morph into tears. God, how stupid could she be? Thinking that a few fantasies meant things had changed between them, that he somehow saw her as a girl instead of a mudblood, know it all? Draco emerged with a glass of water and a bottle of potion. He held the two up.

"What's that?" Hermione frowned suspiciously at the bottle.

"Sober up potion."

"I don't want to be sober." Hermione protested stubbornly.

"Granger, I'm going to be honest with you. Do you remember when you asked me if I thought you were sexy?"

Hermione nodded uncertainly. Her buzz was wearing off at the sudden turn in conversation. This wasn't how she'd planned this at all.

"Well, I think you are the sexiest witch I have ever met. But I'm not going to do anything about it while you're drunk." Malfoy replied bluntly. Hermione gaped at him, then reached hesitantly for the potion. Her nerves were back, her stomach fluttering widely at the implications of what Draco was saying. The potion tasted like peppermints, Hermione's buzz dispersing as it slid down her throat. When the potion was gone she looked up at Draco, wide eyed and terrified. He sat down beside her, then seeming to decide something pulled her into his lap, ignoring her squeal at the sudden movement. He ran his hand through her hair, tracing a finger down her jaw as he pulled her close and kissed her deeply. The butterflies in her stomach were going wild. Compared to Victor Krums kisses, Draco's were fire. His tongue probed her mouth and she let him in, quickly submitting to him. Desperate to deepen the kiss she twisted around until she was straddling him, feeling his hardness press against her thigh. She broke the kiss, letting out a small gasp. Draco seemed to realise what she was thinking as he pulled her hips against his, grinding her core against his hard length and letting out a breathy sigh. Hermione watched him, eyes wide in wonder. Unprompted she repeated the movement, smiling as he swore beneath his breath. It was her that kissed him this time, thinking of the fantasy she had. When her hands reached for the buttons of his shirt, he caught them in his own.

"Granger, we can take this slow, I'm not going to rush you." He said, looking at her with his stormy eyes. She ground her hips against his again, pulling her hands free and reaching for his shirt.

"If I say stop, you stop?" she questioned and he nodded.

"Yes, of course." He sighed raggedly as he was stripped of his shirt and the girl on top of him peppered his pale skin with kisses, raking her teeth over his neck and making him groan. He wanted to undress her, to see her bared before him but he was letting her have control. This time, he thought to himself as Granger began to unbutton her own blouse, watching him with wide eyes. When her shirt opened to reveal a slytherin green bra, Malfoy's eyes widened, his hands reaching up quite without his consent to cup her breasts through the material. She let out a moan, her head falling back as his fingers played with her nipples, hardening them until the material, soft as it was, irritated her. She reached around to unclip it, sensing that Malfoy wouldn't take this step.

"Granger, shall we take this somewhere else?" Malfoy questioned quietly, glancing towards the door as Hermione fingers stalled at the clasp. Both their friends had the password to the dorms, on the off chance of an emergency. She nodded quickly. She got to her feet, suddenly aware of her nakedness and how inexperienced she was. What if Draco laughed at her? She looked at him uncertainly as he stood, his body exposed to her, all rippling muscles and pale skin, the shirt open and clinging loosely to him. He held out his hand for hers and led her towards his room, pausing at the door to ask if she was sure. After a moments hesitation she nodded. He led her into his room, sitting on the edge of his bed as she looked around. It was surprisingly more personal than she had thought it would be. He even had a photo of his mother on his windowsill and Hermione felt herself smile as she imagined the Malfoy matriachs horror at her son inviting a mudblood into his bed. She turned to face him, surprised to find he looked as nervous as she was. She reached again for the clasp to the bra, this time letting it fall so she was bared to him. His eyes darkened, his hands reaching for her but she wasn't done. Unzipping her jeans she pulled them off then hesitating only for the slightest moment, she pulled down her knickers as well. She heard Malfoy's sharp inhale of breath and then him standing, pulling her into him and pressing his lips fiercely to hers. His hands were everywhere, ghosting over her breasts, her bum, her thighs but never straying between her legs, where she was desperate to be touched. Eventually she took matters into her own hands and grabbed his, taking it between her legs and feeling herself blush at her boldness. His fingers ghosted between her folds, touching her clit lightly and watching her as she collapsed into his touch.

"Granger, do you know how many times I've thought about doing this?" he whispered as his thumb circled her clit while his finger probed at her entrance, sinking in just enough for her to let out a groan.

"God, oh god." She could only reply. That glorious feeling was building in her stomach again. Desperately she pushed his hand away, ignoring his concerned look and gestured to his clothing. She had never seen somebody undress so fast. When he was bared to her, she let out a low breath, moving slowly towards him, unsure of how to proceed. He reached his hands for hers and pulled her onto the bed, pressing close to her so he could kiss her deeply. By the time he was lining himself up with her entrance, she was sure her body was about to burst into flames. She wanted him so badly. He pushed into her slowly, his eyes never leaving hers, stopping as he broke through her barrier and swallowing her whimper of pain with a kiss.

"Hermione, do you know what I say about you?" he whispered as he thrust into her, gritting his teeth as her walls contracted around him, her inexperience and nerves testing his resolve not to explode inside her like a teenager. Hermione shook her head beneath him, wide brown eyes meeting his own uncertainly. "I think you're the sexiest witch I've ever met and I want you in my bed. I only want you in my bed and I hope you only want me." He thrust sadistically into her, smiling as she frowned at him, gasping as his hand reached between them and began to circle her clit.

"Malfoy, oh god Malfoy. Yes. Yes." She cried out as she came apart around him.

Two weeks later, Hogwarts was stunned into silence when Hermione Granger told Cormac McLaggen exactly what she thought of him at breakfast. Maybe it was what she had said, or maybe it was the fact that afterwards Draco Malfoy swept her into a deep kiss, or Dumbledore cheering as if he were at a quidditch game. Either way Hermione Granger never again bothered with what other people said about her.


End file.
